Huntington Beach - good for family

[AzianCalFullertonStudent]

HB is the best Orange County Coastal city after Dana Point IMO. There's not a feeling of elitism in the atmosphere, the downtown and Main Street are awesome party spots and everyone is a surfer here. Newport Beach on the other hand is complete elitism.

[antibes]

Originally Posted by peaks

Is Huntington Beach area good for a family with a 5 yr old kid? The house prices there seem to be lower than Irvine (at least the ones not on the beach). Is there a reason for that? Like safety, schools, drug problems, etc that I should be aware of?

I'm looking at the Circle View Elementary School located at 6261 Hooker Dr. Anybody know about this school? The rating for this school on greatschools.net is very high. How's the area around this school? Do you recommend any apartments around this area?

I find Huntington very family oriented. But HB is quite big, so it does make a difference if you're on the border of Garbage Grove, and so on. A few blocks down from one area can suddenly turn a bit seedy.

[thinking of moving to HB]

Originally Posted by Counting Down

My kids both went thru the public schools here (one is still in HS here and the other is in college in NY) and have had wonderful experiences. The schools are first rate and the teachers too. I will say that at the HS level especially it depends on whether you go the Honors/AP route or not as the best teachers are in the Honors/AP track.
Another aspect of HB life that is phenomenal is the summer Junior Lifeguard program. Both my girls went thru it and my youngest is now in her first year as a working lifeguard at the city beach. Both my girls have been involved in swimming and/or water polo and there is tremendous opportunity for various sports here.
I could go on and on about HB. I lived in the South Bay before coming to HB and there is not comparison. I'm close to retirement and will move away at that time since the wife and I have always wanted to live in a more rural environment, but if I was going to stay it would be right here in HB! Anyway, if you have any specific questions, I'd be happy to reply.

My husband and I are moving to HB and have a 14 yr old who will be going into high school. I am not sure what area to look at and want to make sure my daughter will not feel like an out cast. We have pets also is there alot of pet friendlet places to live? My daughter is not a social butterfly so we would like to move somewhere were there is a lot of children or things to do that she would be excited about. do you have any sugestions .

[Charles]

If I were you (and I am) I'd start with looking for good schools and homes in your price range (which is?)

check this out:

School Performance Maps

Also, check out the thread I started on househunting tools:

Useful Househunting tools